Spending a weekend in Krakow
Posted by admin | Posted in Europe | Posted on 04-01-2011
Spending a weekend in the Polish city of Krakow will give you the chance to soak up a little of it’s history, enjoy some of the beauty it has to offer, and to experience a mug of some of the best hot chocolate in the world. And if you are flying to Krakow from a UK airport make sure that you prebook your airport parking to save money on your parking. You can get great deals on Stansted Parking and East Midlands airport parking by booking in advance.
Krakow
There is plenty to do here in this enchanting city, and a great place to start is a visit to Rynek Glowny which is Krakow’s central square and the largest medieval square in Europe. The Wedel shop on the north of the square is a great place to enjoy an obwarzanki – a kind of doughy pretzel snack, but don’t settle for tea here, instead, this is THE place to enjoy a mug of truly delicious hot chocolate with good strong chocolaty flavour and a velvet smooth taste. While you’re shopping, take a trip to Krakow’s cloth market. It has been trading for over 600 years, and today this covered hall specialises in selling wooden crafts, jewellery and souvenirs.
Wawel castle perched on a hilltop looking down over the city comes complete with legends about a virgin-eating dragon. It houses a large collection of furniture as well as many tapestries and portraits and makes an excellent and very artistic museum.
Kazimierz was originially the home to a thriving Jewish community, until ww2 when the Nazis drove them from their homes. Today it is enjoying something of a renaissance with many cafes, bars and music on offer here. You can also visit the Galicia Jewish museum where you can learn about the terrible past that this area has had and what the people who made their homes here pre-ww2 endured.
Across the river Wisla, the district of Podgorze is where the Jewish ghetto that featured in Schindler’s List once stood. The Schindler’s factory still remains here as well as fragments of the ghetto walls, and another museum here – the museum of National Remembrance shows a somewhat sobering and very poignant picture of the atrocities that were committed hereabouts.
In the evening, you might take in a concert, there are several places within walking distance of Rynek Glowny where you might enjoy classical Chopin, or traditional Jewish music and Polish folk music from musicians wearing traditional costumes. The tourist offices in the streets to the north of Rynek Glowny carry up to date listings that will let you know what performances you can choose from.
If you’re lucky enough to be spending longer than a weekend here, there are a number of places nearby to Krakow which are worth visiting. The Wieliczka Salt Mines would be one such place, and you want to allow around 4-6 hours or so for a round trip tour of this fascinating place.
Another place you might want to visit would be the death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. It should be remembered however that this is a very somber place, and for many people it is a disturbing and distressing experience and therefore is a trip which should not be undertaken without a fair amount of thought before hand. If you do decide to visit however, then allowing around 6 hours is probably reasonable.